Barbie: Thumbelina

Meet Thumbelina.   A tiny girl that lives in harmony with nature.  Her home is the magic world of the Twillerbees.  When a spoiled girl named Makenna asks her parents to uproot a patch of wildflowers, Thumbelina along with two of her friends are transported to a lavish city apartment. There they learn of construction plans that threaten to destroy the land of the Twillerbees. Thumbelina is determined not to give up and sets out to convince Makenna the magic of true friendship and that even the smallest person can make a big difference. 

Starring the voice talents of:  Kathleen Barr, Natasha Calis, Kelly Metzger, Kelly Sheridan, Tabitha St. Germain, Cathy Weseluck among others. 

Rating:  G

This movie was a big hit with my daughters and even my 22 month old son loved it.  They insisted on watching it repeatedly over the next two days we had the movie.  When my children actually sit still through an entire movie not just once but 3 times from beginning to end, this is a sure sign that this movie was a hit. 

The graphics were amazing.  The colours and design were gorgeous.  The Thumbelina and the Twillerbees were adorable.  Move over Tinkerbell and Pixie Hollow there are new fairies in town. 

I just loved this movie myself.  It had everything a parent could want.  It was entertaining without violence, it had a strong story and a positive outcome.  There are many teachable moments in this movie if you are so inclined.  

Part of why I like this movie is that the so called "villains" of this piece are the well meaning if somewhat thoughtless parents of Makenna.  They are not out to destroy the home of the Twillerbees from malice but were merely looking for a suitable business site for their factory. Their sudden financial success caused them to become extremely busy making it hard to find time for their daughter.  Makenna's spoiled nature is simply a bi-product of her parent's attempt to make up for the lack of family time together by giving her whatever she wants.  

It's a wonderful exploration of an all too common theme in many homes today.  Even if we are not too busy working, we often want to give our children what we didn't have or to make sure they don't feel left out with their peers.  

It was great when my 5 year old would ask me why Makenna was behaving that way, why her parent's wanted to dig up the Twillerbee's home.  This paved the way for talking about selfish behaviour and even about the environment and ways we could protect it.  

Best of all this movie really fired up my daughter's imagination as her and her cousin spent the next week pretending to be Twillerbees and Twillerbee babies.  I didn't even have to buy them the toys.  Just using their imagination was enough for hours of fun.  

Definitely my top recommendation for any little girls.